Method of sensing sliding by hall sensor and sensing system using the same

ABSTRACT

A method of sensing a sliding by a sensor including grouping one or more Hall elements into one or more groups, measuring magnetic field strength generated by a magnetic field source, and comparing the magnetic field strength at the one or more Hall elements to determine whether a horizontal sliding occurs.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 14/198,165 filedon Mar. 5, 2014, which claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(a) of KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2013-0103458 filed on Aug. 29, 2013, in theKorean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The following description relates to a method of sensing a sliding by aHall sensor and a sensing system using the same.

2. Description of Related Art

The Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0167871 relates to a deviceof sensing whether a flip cover of a flip-type cordless phone opens orcloses and describes an idea including a PCB (Printed Circuit Board), amagnetic sensor and a flip cover. The PCB is installed inside of a bodyand is accessible through a selection button. The magnetic sensordetects a magnetic power at the bottom of the PCB to control a powersupply of the device. Accordingly, related art is limited in itscapacity of detecting motion of a flip cover. For example, related artdoes not describe sensing whether a horizontal sliding of a flip coverfrom a surface of a terminal device occurs.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

In one general aspect, a method of sensing a sliding by a sensorincludes arranging one or more Hall elements; arranging a magnetic fieldsource configured to generate a magnetic field; grouping the one or moreHall elements into one or more groups; and measuring, using the one ormore Hall elements, magnetic field strength generated by the magneticfield source.

The method may further include comparing the magnetic field strengthgenerated at the one or more Hall elements; determining whether ahorizontal sliding occurs, wherein the arranging one or more Hallelements comprises arranging one or more Hall elements on a first body;the arranging a magnetic field source comprises arranging the magneticfield source on a second body corresponding to the first body; and thedetermining whether a horizontal sliding occurs comprises determiningwhether a horizontal sliding of the second body from the surface of thefirst body occurs.

The comparing the magnetic field strength may include checking asimilarity of the magnetic field strength generated at the one or moreHall elements.

The checking a similarity may include determining a ratio of a magneticfield strength collected from a first Hall element to a magnetic fieldstrength collected from a second Hall element of a group.

The comparing the magnetic field strength may further include measuringa standard deviation of the magnetic field strength.

The determining whether a horizontal sliding of the second body from asurface of the first body occurs may include determining that a slidingof the second body does not occur in response to the similarity and thestandard deviation satisfying a threshold.

The determining whether a horizontal sliding of the second body from asurface of the first body occurs may include determining that a slidingof the second body occurs in response to one of the similarity and thestandard deviation not satisfying a threshold.

A threshold of the similarity may range from about 0.5 to about 1.5.

A threshold of the standard deviation may range from about 0 to about0.5.

The first body may include a terminal including a sensor chip.

The second body may include a flip cover including a magnet.

The one or more groups may be determined using a distance between themagnetic field source and the one or more Hall elements.

In another general aspect, a sensing device includes one or more Hallelements configured to collect an external magnetic field strength; asimilarity measurement unit configured to measure a similarity of themagnetic field strength; and a standard deviation measurement unitconfigured to measure a standard deviation of the magnetic fieldstrength.

The device may further include a checking unit configured to checkwhether one of the similarity and the standard deviation is satisfied;and a determination unit configured to determine whether a horizontalsliding of a cover from a surface comprising the one or more Hallelements occurs.

The determination unit may be configured to determine that a sliding ofthe second body does not occur in response to the similarity and thestandard deviation satisfying a threshold.

The determination unit may be configured to determine that a sliding ofa second body occurs in response to one of the similarity and thestandard deviation not satisfying a threshold.

A threshold of the similarity may range from about 0.5 to about 1.5.

A threshold of the standard deviation may range from about 0 to about0.5.

In another general aspect, a device for sensing a horizontal sliding ofa cover may include one or more Hall elements arranged on the device andconfigured to detect magnetic field strength generated by a magneticfield source on the cover; a grouping unit configured to group the oneor more Hall elements into one or more groups; and a determination unitconfigured to determine whether a horizontal sliding of the coveroccurs.

The determination unit may be configured to determine whether ahorizontal sliding of the cover occurs by comparing a similarity and astandard deviation of the one or more Hall elements of the one or moregroups with a similarity threshold and a standard deviation threshold.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display terminal and aflip cover.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a Hall sensor (or asensor chip).

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a collection of magneticfield strengths by at least one Hall element.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a procedure ofclassifying at least one Hall element group.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the avoidance of slidingand a process of removing a horizontal sliding of a flip cover.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a magnetic similarity anda magnetic standard deviation.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating removing a variation of a magneticfield strength by generating a horizontal sliding of a flip cover.

Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwisedescribed or provided, the same drawing reference numerals will beunderstood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures. Thedrawings may not be to scale, and the relative size, proportions, anddepiction of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity,illustration, and convenience.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is provided to assist the reader ingaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatuses,and/or systems described herein. However, various changes,modifications, and equivalents of the systems, apparatuses and/ormethods described herein will be apparent to one of ordinary skill inthe art. The progression of processing steps and/or operations describedis an example; however, the sequence of and/or operations is not limitedto that set forth herein and may be changed as is known in the art, withthe exception of steps and/or operations necessarily occurring in acertain order. Also, descriptions of functions and constructions thatare well known to one of ordinary skill in the art may be omitted forincreased clarity and conciseness.

The features described herein may be embodied in different forms, andare not to be construed as being limited to the examples describedherein. Rather, the examples described herein have been provided so thatthis disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will convey the fullscope of the disclosure to one of ordinary skill in the art.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic deviceincluding a display terminal and a flip cover.

Referring to FIG. 1, the electronic device 1 includes a first body 100and a second body 200. The first body 100 may correspond to a displayterminal. For convenience's sake, the first body 100 may be referred toas the display terminal 100. The display terminal 100 includes a Hallsensor 110 and a main body 120. The second body 200 may correspond to aflip cover 200. For convenience's sake, the second body 200 may bereferred to as the flip cover 200. The flip cover 200 may include amagnet 210 and a covering unit 220. Herein, the display terminal 100 andthe flip cover 200 are only named after their respective functions and,in other examples, the display terminal 100 and the flip cover 200 maybe integrally implemented. That is, the flip cover 200 may be directlycoupled to the display terminal 100 or to a backside battery cover.

The display terminal 100 may correspond to a wireless communicationdevice such as a cellphone, a smartphone and a two-way radio. Thedisplay terminal 100 may include a Hall sensor (i.e., sensor chip) 110and a main body 120.

The Hall sensor 110 may sense a magnetic field generated by the magnet210 of the flip cover 200. The Hall sensor 110 may be rectangular inshape and may include at least one Hall element at each corner. In oneexample, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the Hall sensor 110 includes a singleHall element at each corner. In another example, the Hall sensor 110includes two or more elements at each corner. The Hall sensor 110 may bereferred to as a sensor chip. In other words, the Hall sensor 110 mayinclude a single Hall element or two or more Hall elements at eachcorner. When two Hall elements are arranged at each corner, the Hallsensor 110 may include eight Hall elements in total.

The main body 120 may include a display device and a wirelesstransceiver.

The flip cover 200 may correspond to a cover capable of protecting adisplay and appearance of a display terminal 100 and especially,protects the display terminal 100 from scratches or damage resultingfrom dropping. The flip cover 200 may include a magnet 210 generating amagnetic field and a covering unit 220 covering a front of the displayterminal 100. The opening or closing of the flip cover 200 or ahorizontal sliding of the flip cover 200 may generate a variation of themagnetic field which may be detected through the Hall sensor 110 of thedisplay terminal 100. For example, the horizontal sliding corresponds toa movement of the flip cover 200 generated by an external force in thehorizontal direction with a surface of the display terminal 100 or theHall sensor 110.

The magnet 210 generates a magnetic field around the Hall sensor 110.The magnet 210 is coupled or attached to the covering unit 220 to bemoved according to a movement of the covering unit 220, and the magneticfield around the Hall sensor 110 is changed according to the movement ofthe covering unit 220.

The covering unit 220 protects a front of the display terminal 100 andmay internally or externally include the magnet 210. The magnet 210 maygenerate a magnetic field as a magnetic field source.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a Hall sensor.

Referring to FIG. 2, the Hall sensor 110 includes a group classificationunit 111, a magnetic field strength measurement unit 112, a similaritymeasuring unit 113, a standard deviation measuring unit 114, a checkingunit 117, a horizontal sliding determination unit 115, and a controlunit 116.

The group classification unit 111 may classify the at least one Hallelement 150 into groups based on a distance between each of the at leastone Hall element 150 and the magnet 210. Each of the groups may bedetermined based on a distance between the magnet 210 and the at leastone Hall element 150. The group classification unit 111 may pre-assigneach of the at least one Hall element 150 into the groups. Asillustrated in FIG. 4a , for example, when the four Hall elements 150are respectively arranged in a corner of the Hall sensor 110, the firstgroup 410 a includes two Hall elements 150 a, 150 b near the magnet 210and the second group 410 b includes two Hall elements 150 c, 150 d farfrom the magnet 210. That is, the first Hall group 410 a includes afirst Hall element 150 a and a second Hall element 150 b. The first Hallelement 150 a and the second Hall element 150 b are similarly apart fromthe magnet 210, so the Hall elements may sense a similar magnetic fieldstrength. From the perspective of the magnet 200, the first and secondHall elements are apart from the magnet 210 by a substantially equaldistance and detect a similar magnetic field strength.

Likewise, the second group 410 b includes a third Hall element 150 c anda fourth Hall element 150 d. In this example, when the magnetic fieldstrength is compared between the first group 410 a and the second group410 b, a magnetic field of the first group 410 a is stronger than amagnetic field of the second group 410 b.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a collection of magneticfield strengths by at least one Hall element.

In FIG. 3a , a line 310 indicates a magnetic field strength detected bythe first group 410 a of FIG. 4(a), and a line 320 indicates a magneticfield strength detected by the second group 410 b of FIG. 4(a). Themagnetic field strength detected by the first group is stronger thanthat detected by the second group because the distance between themagnet 210 and the first group is nearer than that between the magnet210 and the second group. The magnetic field strength detected by eachof the Hall elements in the first group is substantially the same.Therefore, the similarity measuring unit 113 measures and compares thesimilarity between the Hall elements in the same group. It is notnecessary to compare the similarity of the first and second groupsbecause the magnetic field strength of the magnetic field detected bythe first and second groups is different. Each of the at least one ofHall element may be pre-assigned to a specific group because the magnet210 is stationary in the flip cover 200.

FIG. 4 illustrates two examples; in a first example, the horizontalsliding of the Hall sensor 110 does not occur and, in a second example,the horizontal sliding of the Hall sensor 110 occurs. For example, thehorizontal sliding of the Hall sensor 110 does not occur in FIG. 4a andthe horizontal sliding of the Hall sensor 110 may occur in FIG. 4b .Referring to FIG. 4a , the similarity between the Hall elements in thefirst group is high. Referring to FIG. 4b , the magnet 210 moves nearthe Hall element 150 b due to a horizontal sliding of the flip cover200. In this example, the magnetic field strength of the first andsecond Hall elements 150 a and 150 b in the first group may be changedand the similarity threshold may be deviated. Likewise, a magnetic fieldstrength of the third and fourth Hall elements 150 c and 150 d in thesecond group may be changed and the similarity threshold may bedeviated.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the magnetic field strength measuring unit112 measures a magnetic field strength and a magnetic field directiongenerated by the magnet 210 of the flip cover 200. The magnetic fieldstrength measuring unit 112 may be implemented as the Hall element 150.It should be appreciated that the Hall Effect is the production of avoltage difference (the Hall voltage) across an electrical conductor,transverse to an electric current in the conductor and a magnetic fieldperpendicular to the current. The Hall voltage is proportional to anamount of the electric current and the magnetic field strength and whenthe amount of the electric current is constant, the Hall voltage isproportional to the magnetic field strength. The magnetic field strengthmeasuring unit 112 measures the magnetic field strength generated by themagnet 210.

The checking unit 117 checks the magnetic field strength at each Hallelement by comparing the magnetic field strength of each of the measuredvalues measured by the magnetic field strength measuring unit 112. Thechecking unit 117 compares the magnetic field strengths with each otherto check whether a similarity and a standard deviation satisfy a certaincriterion. Therefore, the checking unit 117 may include the similaritymeasuring unit 113 and the standard deviation measuring unit 114. Thesimilarity measuring unit 113 measures and compares a similarity of themagnetic field strength at the at least one Hall element 150 and thestandard deviation measuring unit 114 measures and compares a standarddeviation of the magnetic field strength at the at least one Hallelement 150.

The similarity measuring unit 113 may determine a similarity between theHall elements in each of the groups. For example, the similaritymeasuring unit 113 may measure a similarity between the Hall elements ina specific group. That is, the similarity indicates a degree where themagnetic field strength at the Hall elements in each of the groups issimilar and the similarity may satisfy the following MathematicalEquation 1.Similarity=HA/HB  [Mathematical Equation 1]

HA: Magnetic field strength of Hall Element A

HB: Magnetic field strength of Hall element B

Assuming that the first Hall element and the second Hall element areincluded in the first group, and a value of the magnetic field strengthof the first Hall element corresponds to HA and a value of the magneticfield strength of the second Hall element corresponds to HB, thesimilarity may correspond to a value of 1 when the value of HA and HB ismeasured at 500 mT, respectively. In another example, the similaritycorresponds to a value of 0.943 when the value of HA is measured 500 mTand the value of HB is measured 530 mT. The closer the similarity ratiois to a value of 1, the more similar the variation of the magnetic fieldof the Hall elements A and B are.

As illustrated in FIG. 4b , when the horizontal sliding occurs, themagnetic field strength of the first Hall element 150 a and the secondHall element 150 b in the first group may be changed. Therefore, whenthe horizontal sliding occurs, the horizontal sliding determination 115may determine that the flip cover is abnormally opened. Likewise, thesame effect can be detected using the second group.

In FIG. 2, the standard deviation measuring unit 114 may determine astandard deviation of each of the magnetic field strengths collectedthrough the magnetic field strength measuring unit 112. The standarddeviation may compare a magnetic field strength at not only a specificgroup but all of the Hall elements 150. The magnetic standard deviationindicates the degree that the magnetic field strength collected fromeach of the at least one of Hall element 150 deviates from an average ofthe magnetic field strengths. When the number of Hall elements is four,the magnetic standard deviation may be calculated according toMathematical Equation 2.

A range of threshold of the standard deviation (M_sd) may be changedbased on the quantity and size of the magnet 210. The threshold mayrange from about 0 to about 0.5. That is, the threshold may be any valueless than 0.5. When the standard deviation exceeds 0.5, it may bedetermined that the standard deviation does not satisfy a criterion.

        [Mathematical  Equation  2]$\mspace{20mu}{{M\_ sd} = \sqrt{({variation})}}$${Variation} = \frac{\left( {{HA} - {avg}} \right)^{2} + \left( {{HB} - {avg}} \right)^{2} + \left( {{HC} - {avg}} \right)^{2} + \left( {{HD} - {avg}} \right)^{2}}{4}$${Avg} = \frac{\left( {{HA} + {HB} + {HC} + {HD}} \right)}{4}$M_sd:  Standard  DeviationVariation:  Dispersion  of  Magnetic  Field  StrengthAvg:  Mathematical  Average  of  Magnetic  Field  StrengthHA:  Magnetic  Field  Strength  of  Hall  Element  AHB:  Magnetic  Field  Strength  of  Hall  Element  BHC:  Magnetic  Field  Strength  of  Hall  Element  CHD:  Magnetic  Field  Strength  of  Hall  Element   D4:  Total  Quantity  of  Hall  Elements

The horizontal sliding determination unit 115 determines whether thehorizontal sliding of the second body or the flip cover 200 from asurface of the first body or the terminal occurs. That is, thehorizontal sliding determination unit 115 may determine whether the flipcover 200 horizontally slides based on the similarity measured by thesimilarity measuring unit 113 and the standard deviation measured by thestandard deviation measuring unit 114. Therefore, when at least one ofthe value of the similarity and the value of the standard deviationsatisfies a certain criterion, the flip cover 200 may be determine to beopened. An example of the horizontal sliding determination unit 115 isillustrated in FIG. 5 through FIG. 7.

The control unit 116 controls operation and flow of data of the groupclassification unit 111, the magnetic field strength measuring unit 112,the magnetic similarity measuring unit 113, the magnetic standarddeviation measuring unit 114, the checking unit 117, and the horizontalsliding determination unit 115.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the diagram describes an example of ameasurement of the magnetic field strength generated by at least oneHall element.

Referring to FIG. 3a , the magnetic field strength measured by themagnetic field strength measuring unit 112 is constant at a maximumvalue of a certain level when the flip cover 200 is closed (a degree of0). On the other hands, the magnetic field strength measured by themagnetic field strength measuring unit 112 exponentially decreases whenthe Hall sensor 110 is far from the magnet 210 of the flip cover 200 dueto movement of the flip cover 200.

The distance between each of the at least one of the Hall elements 150and the magnet 210 may be changed, and the maximum value of the magneticfield strength may be also changed when the flip cover 200 is closed (adegree of 0). The magnetic field strength 310 of the at least one Hallelement 150 within a first distance near the magnet 210 may be strongerthan the magnetic field strength 320 of the Hall element 150 within asecond distance which is farther from the magnet 210. For example, inFIG. 4a , when Hall elements 150 are arranged at the corner of therectangular Hall sensor 110, and the magnet 210 is arranged above theHall sensor 110, a maximum value measured through the Hall elements 150a, 150 b arranged on an upper side near the magnet 210 may be strongerthan a maximum value measured through Hall elements 150 c, 150 darranged on a lower side.

The similarity and the standard deviation is calculated using the valueof the magnetic field strength, for a more accurate calculation. As FIG.3b illustrates the value of the magnetic field strength collected byFIG. 3a may be used to determine a ratio of the distance of the magnet210. A ratio of distance from the magnet 210 is calculated using thefollowing Mathematical Equation 3 based on the magnetic field strength.Intensity_N=(Raw_0−Raw_N)/Raw_0  [Mathematical equation 3]

Intensity_N: Ratio of distance between the magnets at an N degree angle

Raw_N: Magnetic field strength at N degrees

Raw_0: Magnetic field strength at 0 degrees

The ratio of distance from the magnet 210 may gradually increase as anopen angle of the flip cover 200 increases. Therefore, the more the openangle increase, the more the ratio of distance from the magnet 210converges to a certain value. The ratio of distance from the magnet 210corresponds to a lineal distance from each of the Hall sensors 110 tothe magnet 210. The ratio of distance from the magnet 210 may becalculated based on the magnetic field strength measured at each of theHall elements. As FIG. 3b illustrates, when the flip cover 200 is nearlyaccessed by the Hall sensor 110, the ratio of distance from the magnet210 is close to a value of 0. On the other hands, when the flip cover200 is more open, the distance between the magnet 210 is lengthen moreand more as detected by the far away Hall sensor 110. In this example,the ratio of distance from the magnet 210 is assumed to be close to avalue of 1 when the open angle corresponds to a degree of 90.

A variation of the ratio of distance from the magnet 210 for each of theHall sensors may be generated through a vertical and a horizontalmovement of the flip cover 200. The variation of the magnetic fieldstrength generated by a horizontal sliding of the flip cover 200 may beexcluded when an open angle is calculated, so that accuracy of sensingmovement of the flip cover 200 using the Hall sensors may increase.Because of malfunctioning resulting from horizontal sliding movements,opening the flip cover 200 may not be accurately sensed.

In FIG. 4, the diagram illustrates an example of a procedure ofclassifying at least one Hall element group.

Referring to FIG. 4, Hall elements 150 are assigned at each corner ofthe Hall sensor 110. In this example, one of the Hall elements 150 isarranged at each corner, but in other example, two or more of the Hallelements may be arranged at each corner. The more the quantity of theHall elements increase, the more the accuracy is gradually increased.Accuracy may decrease according to a lower quantity of Hall elementsleading to inaccurate sensing. The Hall element groups may each includeat least one Hall element 150, and the Hall element groups may be setbased on the distance between each of the Hall sensors 110 and themagnet 210.

In FIG. 4a , the magnetic field strength measuring unit 112 may beclassified with a first Hall element group 410 a and a second Hallelement group 410 b though the distance between the Hall sensor 110 andthe magnet 210. As FIG. 4b illustrated, the diagram indicates when aposition of the magnet 210 is changed due to a horizontal sliding.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the avoidance of slidingand a process of removing a horizontal direction sliding of the flipcover 200.

Referring to FIG. 5, the group classification unit 111 may determine theHall element groups. The magnetic field strength measuring unit 112 maymeasure the magnetic field strength generated by the magnet 210 of theflip cover 200 S510. The magnetic similarity measuring unit 113 maymeasure whether the magnetic field strength of the Hall elements 150 ofa specific group is similar. The magnetic standard deviation measuringunit 114 may measure a standard deviation, which compares the magneticfield strength of each of the Hall elements 150 with the magnetic fieldsmeasured by all Hall elements.

The horizontal sliding determination unit 115 may determine whether adetermined similarity satisfies a pre-determined value (threshold) S520.The threshold of similarity corresponds to a capable variation of themagnetic similarity, and the threshold may be a pre-fixed value relatedto the classification of the Hall element groups. For example, thethreshold of the similarity of the horizontal sliding determination unit115 may range from about 0.5 to about 1.5 (1±0.5). When the similarityexceeds 1.5 or is less than 0.5, it is determined that a horizontalsliding occurred. Also, when the similarity ranges from about 0.5 toabout 1.5, a horizontal sliding is determined to have not occurred.

When the similarity is outside the threshold range, the horizontalsliding determination unit 115 may cancel the measured magnetic fieldstrength S530. That is, the magnetic field strength may be determined tobe a result of a horizontal sliding of the flip cover 200 and isexcluded from the calculation of the angle of the flip cover 200.

When the similarity satisfies the threshold range, the horizontalsliding determination unit 115 may determine whether the flip cover 200horizontally slides based on the standard deviation determined by thestandard deviation measurement unit 114.

The horizontal sliding determination unit 115 may determine whether thestandard deviation falls within the threshold range of the standarddeviation S540. Herein, the threshold of the standard deviation is acapable range of the variation of the standard deviation, and thethreshold may be a pre-fixed value related to a classification procedureof the Hall element group.

When the standard deviation satisfies the threshold range of thestandard deviation, the horizontal sliding determination unit 115 maydetermine a normal operation of the magnetic field strength. In thisexample, the magnetic field strength may be determined by a magneticfield generated as a result of vertical sliding and not horizontalsliding. This magnetic field may be applied to a calculation fordetermining the angle of the flip cover 200 S550. On the other hands,when the standard deviation is outside the threshold range of thestandard deviation, the magnetic field strength may be determined asresulting from a horizontal sliding of the flip cover 200 and cancelledfrom the calculation of the angle of the flip cover 200 S530. Forexample, the threshold of the standard deviation of the horizontalsliding determination unit 115 ranges from about 0.5 to about 1.5(1±0.5). When the standard deviation exceeds 1.5 or is less than 0.5,the horizontal sliding is determined to have occurred. Also, when thesimilarity ranges from about 0.5 to about 1.5, the horizontal sliding isdetermined to have not occurred.

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating an example of a magnetic similarity and amagnetic standard deviation.

Referring to FIG. 6, the ratio of the distance from the magnet 210measured based on each of the magnetic field strength measured by theHall elements 112 may be changed according to the movement of thehorizontal sliding or the vertical sliding. Lines 610, 620 and 630indicate when the horizontal sliding occurs. Therefore, all of the linesindicate results which do not satisfy the similarity and the standarddeviation. The movement of the flip cover 200 determines the movement ofthe horizontal sliding to be excluded at the calculation of angle of theflip cover 200. On the other hands, the part shown within the range ofvertical movement indicates a normal operation. The graph does notillustrate a large difference out of range of the similarity and thestandard deviation. Herein, FIG. 6 indicates a range of normal openingof the flip cover 200. In the case, the horizontal sliding determinationunit 115 applies the value of the magnetic field strength to calculatethe open angle of the flip cover 200.

FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating an example of removing variation of themagnetic field strength by generating the horizontal direction slidingof the flip cover 200.

Referring to FIG. 7, when the horizontal sliding determination unit 115determines the magnetic field strength generated by the horizontalsliding movement of the flip cover 200 based on the similarity and thestandard deviation, the variation of the magnetic field strength may beexcluded from the calculation of the angle at a certain range. On theother hands, when the horizontal sliding determination unit 115satisfies the similarity and the standard deviation, the variation ofthe magnetic field strength may be determined as a the vertical movementof the flip cover 200, and the variation of the magnetic field strengthmay be included in the calculation of the angle of the flip cover 200.The vertical movement corresponds to the opening of the flip cover 200.

Accordingly, in various aspects, the Hall sensor 110 determines the dataof the vertical movement of the flip cover 200 and excludes thevariation of the magnetic field strength resulting from the horizontalsliding movement based on whether the flip cover 200 horizontallyslides.

The display terminal 110 may calculate a variation of the angle and amoving distance of the flip cover 200 based on the data of the verticalmovement determined by the Hall sensor 110, and the calculated resultmay be used to change a user interface (i.e. UI) or the setting of gamedata.

The various units, modules, elements, and methods described above may beimplemented using one or more hardware components, one or more softwarecomponents, or a combination of one or more hardware components and oneor more software components.

A hardware component may be, for example, a physical device thatphysically performs one or more operations, but is not limited thereto.Examples of hardware components include microphones, amplifiers,low-pass filters, high-pass filters, band-pass filters,analog-to-digital converters, digital-to-analog converters, andprocessing devices.

A software component may be implemented, for example, by a processingdevice controlled by software or instructions to perform one or moreoperations, but is not limited thereto. A computer, controller, or othercontrol device may cause the processing device to run the software orexecute the instructions. One software component may be implemented byone processing device, or two or more software components may beimplemented by one processing device, or one software component may beimplemented by two or more processing devices, or two or more softwarecomponents may be implemented by two or more processing devices.

A processing device may be implemented using one or more general-purposeor special-purpose computers, such as, for example, a processor, acontroller and an arithmetic logic unit, a digital signal processor, amicrocomputer, a field-programmable array, a programmable logic unit, amicroprocessor, or any other device capable of running software orexecuting instructions. The processing device may run an operatingsystem (OS), and may run one or more software applications that operateunder the OS. The processing device may access, store, manipulate,process, and create data when running the software or executing theinstructions. For simplicity, the singular term “processing device” maybe used in the description, but one of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that a processing device may include multiple processingelements and multiple types of processing elements. For example, aprocessing device may include one or more processors, or one or moreprocessors and one or more controllers. In addition, differentprocessing configurations are possible, such as parallel processors ormulti-core processors.

A processing device configured to implement a software component toperform an operation A may include a processor programmed to runsoftware or execute instructions to control the processor to performoperation A. In addition, a processing device configured to implement asoftware component to perform an operation A, an operation B, and anoperation C may have various configurations, such as, for example, aprocessor configured to implement a software component to performoperations A, B, and C; a first processor configured to implement asoftware component to perform operation A, and a second processorconfigured to implement a software component to perform operations B andC; a first processor configured to implement a software component toperform operations A and B, and a second processor configured toimplement a software component to perform operation C; a first processorconfigured to implement a software component to perform operation A, asecond processor configured to implement a software component to performoperation B, and a third processor configured to implement a softwarecomponent to perform operation C; a first processor configured toimplement a software component to perform operations A, B, and C, and asecond processor configured to implement a software component to performoperations A, B, and C, or any other configuration of one or moreprocessors each implementing one or more of operations A, B, and C.Although these examples refer to three operations A, B, C, the number ofoperations that may implemented is not limited to three, but may be anynumber of operations required to achieve a desired result or perform adesired task.

Software or instructions for controlling a processing device toimplement a software component may include a computer program, a pieceof code, an instruction, or some combination thereof, for independentlyor collectively instructing or configuring the processing device toperform one or more desired operations. The software or instructions mayinclude machine code that may be directly executed by the processingdevice, such as machine code produced by a compiler, and/or higher-levelcode that may be executed by the processing device using an interpreter.The software or instructions and any associated data, data files, anddata structures may be embodied permanently or temporarily in any typeof machine, component, physical or virtual equipment, computer storagemedium or device, or a propagated signal wave capable of providinginstructions or data to or being interpreted by the processing device.The software or instructions and any associated data, data files, anddata structures also may be distributed over network-coupled computersystems so that the software or instructions and any associated data,data files, and data structures are stored and executed in a distributedfashion.

For example, the software or instructions and any associated data, datafiles, and data structures may be recorded, stored, or fixed in one ormore non-transitory computer-readable storage media. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium may be any data storage device that iscapable of storing the software or instructions and any associated data,data files, and data structures so that they can be read by a computersystem or processing device. Examples of a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium include read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory (RAM), flash memory, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD+Rs, CD-RWs,CD+RWs, DVD-ROMs, DVD-Rs, DVD+Rs, DVD-RWs, DVD+RWs, DVD-RAMs, BD-ROMs,BD-Rs, BD-R LTHs, BD-REs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, magneto-opticaldata storage devices, optical data storage devices, hard disks,solid-state disks, or any other non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium known to one of ordinary skill in the art.

Functional programs, codes, and code segments for implementing theexamples disclosed herein can be easily constructed by a programmerskilled in the art to which the examples pertain based on the drawingsand their corresponding descriptions as provided herein.

While this disclosure includes specific examples, it will be apparent toone of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form anddetails may be made in these examples without departing from the spiritand scope of the claims and their equivalents. The examples describedherein are to be considered in a descriptive sense only, and not forpurposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects in eachexample are to be considered as being applicable to similar features oraspects in other examples. Suitable results may be achieved if thedescribed techniques are performed in a different order, and/or ifcomponents in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit arecombined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by othercomponents or their equivalents. Therefore, the scope of the disclosureis defined not by the detailed description, but by the claims and theirequivalents, and all variations within the scope of the claims and theirequivalents are to be construed as being included in the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sensing device for sensing a horizontal slidingof a cover on a body, comprising: a magnetic field source on the cover;and a Hall sensor in the body comprising a first Hall element and asecond Hall element, wherein the first Hall element and the second Hallelement are configured to detect a magnetic field strength generated bythe magnetic field source on the cover and produce a first magneticfield strength and a second magnetic field strength, respectively, andwherein the Hall sensor further comprises: a similarity measurement unitconfigured to measure a ratio of the first magnetic field strength andthe second magnetic field strength to produce a similarity value; and astandard deviation measurement unit configured to measure a standarddeviation of the first magnetic field strength and the second magneticfield strength to produce a standard deviation value, a checking unitconfigured to check whether a threshold of one of the similarity valueand the standard deviation value is satisfied, and a determination unitconfigured to determine an occurrence of a horizontal sliding of thecover on a surface of the body comprising the Hall elements based on aresult of the check.
 2. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein, for thedetermining of the occurrence of the horizontal sliding, thedetermination unit is further configured to determine that thehorizontal sliding of the cover does not occur in response to thesimilarity value and the standard deviation value satisfying thethreshold.
 3. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein, for thedetermining of the occurrence of the horizontal sliding, thedetermination unit is further configured to determine that thehorizontal sliding of the cover occurs in response to one of thesimilarity value and the standard deviation value not satisfying thethreshold.
 4. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the threshold ofthe similarity value ranges from about 0.5 to about 1.5.
 5. The sensingdevice of claim 1, wherein the threshold of the standard deviation valueranges from about 0 to about 0.5.
 6. A device for sensing a horizontalsliding of a cover on a body, comprising: a magnetic field source on thecover; and a Hall sensor comprising Hall elements arranged on the body,wherein each of the Hall elements is configured to detect a magneticfield strength generated by the magnetic field source on the cover andproduce Hall voltages data-based on the magnetic field strength, andwherein the Hall sensor is configured to: group the Hall elements intogroups; and determine whether a horizontal sliding of the cover occursby calculating a ratio of first and second Hall voltages of respectivedetected magnetic field strengths of Hall elements in one of the groupsand comparing the ratio with a threshold.
 7. The device of claim 6,wherein, for the determining of whether the horizontal sliding of thecover occurs, the Hall sensor is configured to determine whether ahorizontal sliding of the cover occurs by comparing a standard deviationof the Hall voltages based on the magnetic field strengths of Hallelements in the one group with a standard deviation threshold.
 8. Asensing device comprising: a first body; first and second Hall elementsdisposed on the first body wherein the first Hall element is displacedin the first direction from the second Hall element; and a magneticfield source disposed on a second body wherein the magnetic field sourceis configured to generate a magnetic field; wherein the sensing deviceis configured to measure the magnetic field at each of the first andsecond Hall elements, and compare a strength of the magnetic fieldmeasured at the first Hall element to a strength of the magnetic fieldmeasured at the second Hall element, and determine whether the secondbody moves in the first direction relative to the first body.
 9. Thesensing device of claim 8, further comprising: a third Hall element anda fourth Hall element disposed on the first body, wherein the third Hallelement is displaced from the fourth Hall element in the firstdirection.
 10. The sensing device of claim 8, wherein the first bodycomprises a terminal comprising a sensor chip.